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Putting School Closings to a Public Vote Cincerns Board Members

Posted on: Saturday, 21 January 2006, 00:00 CST

By JESSICA M. KARMASEK

DAILY MAIL STAFF

Closing or consolidating elementary and middle schools would require county voter approval under a bill being considered in the House of Delegates.

Two Kanawha County school board members say voters shouldn't have that opportunity. If local option elections were held, schools would almost never be consolidated or closed, members say.

Board President Jim Crawford said: "I just don't think legislators understand the economics. This bill would tie the hands of local county schools boards."

No one wants to close schools, he said.

"I think most voters are intelligent. That's not the issue," he said. "I just think that given the choice, no one would choose to close a school. I know I don't like to close schools.

"But everyone wants their own neighborhood school and sometimes the county just can't afford them."

House Education Chairman Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier, said long bus rides for students brought on by a wave of closing and consolidations are a concern of lawmakers.

Campbell said he hopes school boards will view the legislation as a means of compromise.

"This bill involves the people as far as making a decision, but also provides the boards with some provisions and exceptions, allowing them to follow the current procedure," he said.

Kanawha County has 20 fewer schools today than it did in 1996. If it weren't for those closures, the county would surely be in the red, Crawford says.

"They don't understand that when schools get below the economy of scale, it's not economical to continue to operate that school," Crawford said.

Board member Bill Raglin said special elections could be costly and might bog down the process.

"If it fell between regular elections and there were no bond issues, then it would take some time to come to a decision," he said. "We shouldn't have to wait years to close a school or consolidate if it's necessary."

Board member Pete Thaw, however, said he supports the bill. He said the taxpayers have a right to express their opinions.

"I have no problem, ever, in letting the people vote," he said. "If I had my way, I'd have them vote on everything."

He said West Side residents, in particular, would benefit from the bill.

Five West Side elementary schools - Glenwood, J.E. Robins, Watts, Chandler and Grandview - are slated for closure. West Side parents and community members say they want to consolidate the schools into two, one school in the flats region and another in the hills region.

"I'm for giving the taxpayers what they want. They're the ones paying for it. They should have a say," Thaw said.

Steve Weir, president of the West Side Neighborhood Association's school taskforce, said the legislation might help bring schools and communities closer together.

"Allowing the taxpayers some voice in this issue, if nothing else, opens the issue up to discussion," he said. "It brings everyone to the table."

More than 300 West Virginia schools have closed since 1990 because of the drop in student-age population. Since then, there's been a decrease of more than 41,000 students.

Howard O'Cull, executive director of the state School Boards Association, said many county school boards - not just Kanawha County - are concerned about the bill.

In counties such as Lincoln, McDowell, Mingo and Hampshire, where school systems have been taken over by the state Department of Education, the bill would create two competing statutes, O'Cull said.

"At this point, we don't know the fiscal ramifications," O'Cull said. "Right now, we're in the process of surveying our members to see how deeply the legislation will affect them in general. And I think it will have a severe effect on some counties."

Contact writer Jessica Karmasek at jessica@dailymail.com or 348- 1796.

Source: Charleston Daily Mail

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